RUSSIA— When Russian artist and theater critic Masha Ivashintsova died in 2000, her daughter Asya Ivashintsova-Melkumyan began looking through her things. That was when she got the shocker of a life. In the attic, she found a vast collection of negatives of photographs her mother had taken throughout her lifetime. Asya was shocked not just by the discovery of the vast collection of negatives but also by the fact that the photographs had never been shown to a soul.

In addition to the discovery, the question Asya had to find answers to was why her mother never showed her work to a single soul. The answer to this pertinent question was in her mother’s diary. Masha Ivashintsova’s diary provides an answer for her hidden artistic life: “I loved without memory: is that not an epigraph to the book, which does not exist? I never had a memory for myself but always for others.”

The devotion to others over self dictated Masha’s career. She lived the secret life as a photographer. Throughout her life, Masha Ivashintsova was part of the underground poetry and photography movement in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg). She took over 30,000 photographs, wrote poems, and did other forms of writing. Strangely enough, she kept all her work a secret. Many of Masha’s photographs provide an insight into her world while also allowing a glimpse of everyday life in Leningrad from 1960 to 1999.

The images from the vast collection of negatives found in the attic reveal Masha’s brilliance as a street photographer. Many of the photographs capture their subjects at their most vulnerable moments. Above all, they tell the story of a period when there was abject poverty, deprivation, and death.

Mysterious Reality: Melvar Melkumyan, Moscow, USSR, 1983

One of the images from the treasure trove is the photograph of a bearded man wearing a pair of circle-rimmed glasses. The black and white portrait is that of Melvar Melkumyan, Masha’s husband and father of Asya. Taken in 1983, the picture presents Melvar as a man of mystery. All that is visible in this photograph is the right side of his head daintily illuminated by a ray of light. The gray hair, a crusty forehead, and a pair of glasses held in place by a bulbous nose are all one can see.

Every other part of the photograph is dark, emphasizing a contrast of light and dark. Masha’s exploration of the chiaroscuro technique in this photograph is not just for artistic license but also a way to capture her husband and their turbulent relationship. This approach is very clear in an entry in her diary. She wrote of her husband:

Melvar is an unknown, unattainable, untouchable teacher. At the time, he had this love in him and a desire to wrest me from the abomination of Saint Petersburg, from this swamp of a city. He tortured me with his will, locked me up, and tried to break me with his words. I hated him. But due to my inner helplessness, I could not take a step without him. And, having run away, having been out, I again returned to my “tormentor-teacher.” Then again, I was leaving him as a clean, sinless virgin. He himself bore my sins.

Some of the photographs in this collection are of Masha’s friends, photographers, poets, and former lovers. Her lovers included photographer Boris Smelov, poet Viktor Krivulin, and linguist Melvar Melkumyan. Boris Smelov perhaps made an impeccable impact on Masha Ivashintsova. Boris and Masha met on the train from Moscow to Leningrad in 1974, and they fell in love. That chance meeting changed Masha’s plan, which was to move back to Moscow to reunite with her husband and daughter after several years of bitter separation. Sadly, the relationship between Boris and Masha did not last, and they went their different ways.

Lovebirds: Masha Ivashintsova With Her Lover, Photographer Boris Smelov, Leningrad, USSR, 1974

After many years of not seeing each other, Boris and Masha met again in 1993 on the street. It was during this encounter that Masha took a portrait picture of Boris. The portrait is that of a well-dressed, calm-looking Boris. He has bushy hair, and on his face is a pair of round glasses that make him look like a member of the Beatles. In his hand is a cigarette. He looks at peace. Five years after the photograph was taken, Boris was found dead on the street. Masha was devastated. She wrote in her diary of his death:

Borya Smelov died. He died on the street, not so far from our house. He froze to death outside. He died. The love is gone. Today, we had a funeral next to the Church of Smolensky cemetery. Many people came […]. I kissed Borya’s lifeless forehead. I prayed together with Vitya Krivulin. I held a candle, I held flowers, and I threw a handful of soil onto his coffin. At home, after talking to Asya, I cried so much. What a terrible, bitter loss.

In addition to many of the photographs of her lovers and friends, Masha also took photographs of everyday people. Many of these photographs were from her trips around Russia. Two Sisters is the photograph of two girls wearing what looks like their Sunday best. The photograph is a classic example of Masha’s outstanding ability to capture expressions and also reveal emotions. Sitting on what looks like a bench, the two girls gaze at the camera in a way that exposes their innermost thoughts. On the face of one of the girls is the expression that calls into question why they are taking the photograph.

Father and Daughter: Melvar Melkumyan with his daughter, Asya, Moscow, USSR, 1976

Masha Ivashintsova took several photographs of her daughter, Asya. Perhaps one of the most interesting of the photographs is that of Asya with her father, Melvar Melkumyan. Taken in 1976 in Moscow, the photograph shows the deep affection between father and daughter. In the photograph, Melvar rests his back on a tree while little Asya pulls at his beard. With his large eyeballs wide open, Melvar gazes at the camera and his wife, who is holding the camera. Asya’s gaze is a total contrast to that of her father: it is soft and affectionate. Although Masha took the photograph at a point of conflict between her and Melvar, there is a display of affection and familyhood.

Each Picture Carries a Story

Looking through some of her photographs already on display, there is no doubt that Ivashintsova was a brilliant photographer with an outstanding ability to tell stories with her works. Each picture carries a story, not just the one told by the photographer herself, but also by those viewing her work. In this way, Masha Ivashintsova can be described as a genius. Her daughter agrees: “I see my mother as a genius, but she never saw herself as one—and never let anybody else see her for what she really was.”

Since the discovery of the negatives, some people have been drawing a similarity between Masha Ivashintsova and Vivian Maier, the American photographer and caregiver whose extensive collection of negatives was discovered in Chicago after her death in 2009. Although some of Ivashintsova’s negatives have been developed, members of her family and other interested parties are working ceaselessly to scan all of Ivashintsova’s life’s work. You can see more of Ivashintsova’s recently discovered images on this website. You can also see more on Instagram, specifically created to share her legacy.